Drawer-controlling means for medicine cabinets



Sept. 5, 1939. MARCHAND 2,171,663

DRAWER CONTROLLING MEANS FOR MEDICINE CABINETS Filed July 8, 1938 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

IHIIIV Sept. 5, 1939 AMARCHAND 2,171,663

URXKWER-CONTROLLING MEANS FOR MEDICINE CABINETS Filed July 8, was 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I I I I I Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE DRAWER-CONTROLLING MEANS FOR MEDICINE CABINETS 1 Claim.

The usual household medicine cabinet generally contains a number ofcommonly used antiseptics such as iodine and other drugs which aredeleterious and even poisonous to the human system when takeninternally. The object of my present invention is to provide a drawerfor containing such articles and which, while avoiding the use of akey-lock, will safeguard the opening of the drawer by small children.

[0 The principle of my invention is to provide two separate latchingelements for the drawer, which elements must be operated simultaneouslyand which are so separated as to make it difiicult, if not impossible,for a small child to operate the said latching means.

The separated latching members, requiring the use of both hands and armssimultaneously, are employed in conjunction with spring means forejecting the drawer.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of an embodiment of the invention,certain parts being shown in dotted lines, and other parts in section.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective View 30 showing the lower portionof the cabinet with the drawer removed.

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the drawer.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detailed view in perspective, showing the baseportion of the lefthand latch member.

Figure '7 is a view in sectional elevation showing the lower portion ofthe right-hand latching member, the latter being in latching relation tothe drawer, part of which is shown.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of the structure shown inFigure 7.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the form of theinvention therein illustrated comprises a bath-room cabinet which issubstantially counter-sunk. It comprises a casing having the rear wall Iand side walls Ix, the latter being formed with outwardly extending boxflanges 2 which merge with the top and bottom box flanges 3.

Within the casing may be suitably supported a plurality of shelves 4 andthe bottom shelf 5 may be fixed in position as, for example, by spotwelding, constituting the top of a drawer compartment. Into thiscompartment is adapted to 55 slide a drawer 6, each end of the drawerbeing constructed as shown more particularly in Figures 3 and 4. It willbe seen that the end wall 6a; is inset and that adjacent thereto andspaced from the front wall of the drawer is a cam strip 1 having alatch-receiving vertical face lat.

The horizontal portion of the drawer overlying each cam strip 1 carriesan upwardly extending lug 8. The front edge of shelf 5 is turned down asshown in Figure 3 so that when the drawer is moved outwardly, lugs 8will be engaged to prevent the drawer from being wholly withdrawn fromthe cabinet. To effect the outward movement of the drawer there isdisposed at wall I a leaf spring 9 which is free at one end. When thedrawer is moved inwardly the spring is compressed, ,and the release ofthe drawer will cause the spring to move it outwardly into openposition. The drawer is held against release by the instrumentalitiesnow to be described.

At the right-hand side of the cabinet the side wall is formed with anelongated slot at H] and into the slot is projected a latch arm Hcarried by an operating rod l2, and the operating rod I2 is normallyheld in upward position by the action of a coil spring l3 whichsurrounds it and engages arm II, the base of the spring bearing againstthe top of an angular plate M.

The lower end of rod I2 is angularly bent and projected through a slotat l5, and a finger disk or handle 16 may be secured to the thusprojected end of the rod. It will be seen that when the drawer is movedinwardly its right-hand cam strip 1 will lie over upon rod arm H causingthe rod to be moved downwardly against the tension of spring I3 untilshoulder 1a: moves past the rod arm, enabling spring l3 to snap the rodupwardly, bringing arm ll into latching relation to shoulder kt as shownin Figure 7.

At the left-hand side of the cabinet, its side wall within box flange 2is formed with an elongated aperture at H, Figure 6, which receiveslatch arm I8a: of a rod l8, which rod extends upwardly to the top areaof the cabinet and its upper angularly bent section projects through anelongated slot similar to slot l1 and is provided with a finger disk orhandle [9.

A spiral spring 20 encircles rod [8 below arm 18a: and bears upon thelatter, the lower end of the spring engaging a supporting bracket 2|.When the drawer is moved inwardly the lefthand cam strip 1 will bearupon the top of arm I80: and gradually the arm will be moved downwarduntil shoulder Ia: passes it, whereupon spring 20 will snap the arm infront of the 2 shoulder and into latching engagement, as shown in Figure3.

When either handle I6 or I9 is operated to move downward its appropriaterod, no action upon drawer 6 ensues. Therefore, a child may move eitherof the rods without opening the drawer. It is necessary to grasp thehandles I6 and I9 and move the rods simultaneously. When this is done,the spring 9 will move the drawer outwardly and access will be had toits contents.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is as follows:

Drawer-controlling means for medicine cabinets comprising a casinghaving rectangular parallel sides, a base wall and a top wall, boxflanges carried by the side walls, a rod disposed in each box flange andhaving a latching arm projected through the adjacent side wall, a drawerslidably disposed intermediate each of said arms, a latching camadjacent each arm, a spring tending to move the drawer to open position,spring means for engaging said rods, a 4 manual operating member carriedby one rod and projected through the box flange in which it is disposed,and a manual operating member connected to the second rod and projectedthrough the box flange in which it is disposed, whereby 1' for releaseof the drawer the rods must be independently actuated to simultaneouslylie in such position that the rod arms are retracted from the latchcams, the latch cams being adapted to automatically return the arms tolatching 1: position upon closure of the drawer against the tension ofits spring.

ADOLPH MARCHAND.

